Improvement in sewing-machines



2 Sheets-Sheet I.

Patented Aug. 30, 1864.

L W LATHROP Sewing Machine.

v 2 Sheets-SheetZ L. W. LATHROP.

Sewing Machine.

No. 44,003. Patented Aug. 30, 1864.

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LEBBEUS \V. LATHROP, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 44.003, dated August 30, 1864.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEBBEUS W. LATHROP,"Of

the city and county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Macl'iines; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of my invention, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, and the letters of reference marked thereon, in which the same letter represents the same thing in each figure.

Figure 1 is a front end view of my improved sewing-machine; Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3, a bottom view, showing the operative parts; Fig. 4, a cut section of the hollow grooved ret'clving hook, showing the under side of the flanged spool-holder and the wire take-up; Fig. 5, a front view of the spool-case and guard. Fig. 6 is a front view of the hook and the cam-plate within the cup, which causes the release of the loop from the notch on the end of the wire take-up inside the hook.

A is the bed-plate; B, the stationary arm; 0, the shaft; D, the vibrating arm;'E, the eccentric-rod connecting the shaft and vibrating arm; F, the needle-rod; G, the eccentric by which shaft 0 moves arm D; II, the point of connection between rod E and arm D; I, the pivot on which arm 1) turns; J, the presserfoot rod; K, the hollow grooved revolving hook; L, the front of the spool-case; M, the under spool; N, the upper spool; O, the expanding and contracting spindle of the lower spool; P, the tension-regulating nut; Q, the short arm connecting arm D and rod 1; R, the lever to lift the presser-foot; S, the front end of the arm B, supporting rods F and J; T, the presser-foot; U, the balance-wheel; V, the thumb-screw to regulate the length of stitch; Vt, the tension-plate for the upper thread; X and X, the front and rear guards for the lower spool; Y, the pulley-wheel; Z Z, the shaftbearings; a, the button which fastens the two portions of the spool-holder together; b, the lower thread-tension; c, the needle; d and e, the cams actuating the feed-bar; f, the cam actuating the vibrating plate H; g, the feedbar; h, the stationary spool-frame controller; 6], the vibrating spool-trame controller; is, the spring which throws back vibrating plate ij after camfhas moved it forward; l, the lever by which cam fmoves plate tj; m, the lever by which cam (1 moves feed-bar g; n, the spiral spring which returns the feed-bar; p, the thread-guide; r, the wire take-up inside the hollow grooved revolving hook K; s, the camplate within the hook-cup, which causes the release of the loop from the notch on the end of wire take-up r; t, the needle-thread.

The operation is as follows: Thereis nothing peculiar in threading the needle, the thread passes from upper spool, N, through tension \V, and guide 10, to the eye of the needle. An ordinary spool of thread being placed upon the expanding and contracting spindle O, by a slight compression the spindle is slipped into its bearing-points in the spool-case L, the expansion of the spring in the spindle keeping it in its place. The thread is then carried back of the spool-case up through a small hole, thence under tension-spring b, and out through a small hole at the extremity of the spool-case. The spool-case is then placed within the hollow of grooved hook K, the two parts thereof secured to each other by turning button a,'care being taken to leave a small portionof thread beyond the extremity of the spool-case. Rotating shaft 0 gives,through eccentric G, connecting-rod E, vibrating arm D, and needle-rod F, vertical motion to needle 0, carrying its thread through the fabric and below the table, as in most modern machines, and, the needle being retracted slightly by the form of the eccentric, a loop is formed. The point of the hollow grooved revolving hook K now enters the loop of needle-thread, spreading it around and over the spool-holder L and guards X and X, carrying the loop of needle-thread t over rear guard, X. The back portion of the loop being now inside of the cup of the hook K, is caught at about half its revolution on the notched end of wire take-up r, and so held as to cause the thread to fall otf from and be held back of the point of the hook in its further revolution until its pointis near needle 0 and almostor quite catching the second loop there from. Cam-plate 8 inside ofthe back partof thehollow grooved hook, having been brought by its revolution in contact with wire take-up r, presses it so as to cause it to loosen its hold on thread it, enabling the beveled end or point of cam-plate s to push off this thread-loop from the end of take-up r, the feed having advanced the material the length of a stitch before the needle made its second descent. When the loop of needle-thread slips off the extremity of by all which, especially by the peculiar spool-holder Lit encircles the thread of the lower spool, there remaining, and draws it into the fabric in the ordinary manner.

The hollow grooved revolving hookK is shaped by being slotted diagonally sufliciently t'o'allow the back pal t of theloop to pass inside of the hook and back of the spool-frame, and having its point made sufficiently long and slender to allow it to enter and hold the needle-loop until the needle has passed up out of the cloth, the hook being so beveled and widened as to cause the back part of the needleloop to pass through thesaid slot, thus distending it so that it may readily slip around the spool and its guards X and X, and by theoscillation of the flanged spool-frame playing in the groove of the inside of revolving hook the thread passes each end of the flange, so that there is no contact and no rubbing ot' the thread in its passage, but it slips smoothly over the spool frame. The flanged spool-holder is kept from revolving with the hook by the stationary spool-frame controller h and the vibrating spool-frame controller or finger-stop 03 which are so arranged that by the retraction of i j at the proper time the loop of needle-thread slips off the end of the spool-frame without friction between the vibrating spoolfrarne controller or finger-stop and the frame, and is drawn up and into the cloth by the hook, as stated.

The feeding device does notdift'eressentially from many other sewing-machines. (Jam 0, operating lever-arm m, advances the feed-bar g upon'the rough teeth of which presser-foot T holds the fabric, carrying the material with it the length of a stitch. (Jam 61 releasingits action upon lever m, the feed-bar g is drawn down and back by spiral spring a preparatory to being again lifted and carried forward by cam (I. Thumb-screw V regulates the length of stitch. By turning it in, arm at is carried farther from cam 61, and its action upon it is less and the stitch shorter.

it will thus be seen thatmy invention relates to lock-stitch sewing-machines using two common store-spools; and its prominent features are the long pointed and beveled hook upon a revolving cup, which catches the needle thread, carrying ita-round the spool, releasing it after it has caught a bight of the under thread, which it draws into theeloth; the under take-up or loop-controller inside the re volving cup, which controls the needle-loop during this operation; the flexible tension on the needle-bar; the spring-tension placed on the spool-holder to regulate the under thread so. as not to come in contact with the needleloop as it passes around the lower spool; the

rangement of tension and take-up, the usual severe and sudden jerk of ordinary take-ups is prevented and greater equality of tension to both threads is secured, while the positive movements employed promote great speed, ease, and delicacy of action for the machines, and the vibrating motion of the spool-frame also preventing the jamming up of theloop between the end of the spool-frame and the stop. The advantage of placing the upper tension on the needle-bar is that it performs no takeup, which is important in this class of machines to avoid unnecessary strain on the upper thread. If the tension is placed on the stationary arm, it produces an angle in the thread between the tension on the arm and the needle-bar through which the thread passes, and on the ascent of the needle makes unnecessary strain upon the thread above the cloth, while it is desirable to have itall obtained below the cloth by the motion of the hook.

I do not claim carrying a loop of needlethread over a stationary spool when said spool does not change its relative position to other parts of the machine, neither when said spool is carried on a platform, such devices not being new but \Vhat I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Passingaloopofneedle-threadoveracommonv store-spool, substantially in the manner described, said spool having an oscillating vi-.

bratingmotion to release and relieve the thread in its passage over it.

2. Attaching a take-up to the spool-frame inside the revolving cup, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination of the stationary and the vibrating spool -frame controllers described,

to alternately keep the spool-frame from revolving with the cup without producing friction on the needle-thread.

4. The combination of an upper tension on the needle-bar with a spring-tension on the spool-holder, constructed and operating together substantially as described.

5. Oscillating thespool-holder,substantially in the manner described,- to permit the loop of needle-thread to pass between the spool-case and the case-holder.

6. The combination of the hollow grooved revolving hook and the flanged and oscillating spool-holder, constructed and operating together substantially as described.

7. The beveled hook described and shown, so long and slender pointed that the point, atter entering the loop, shall not begin to spread it until after the eye of the needle has reached the cloth in its ascent.

LEBBEUS w. LA'rnaor.

Witnesses:

J. B. SANFORD, DANIEL F. Fl'rz. 

